Temper

(2024)

A piece featuring twelve vintage electronic metronomes.

They are all set to the slowest speed, and are arranged in a wavy line.

They are manipulated and mixed so that they no longer demarcate time but scramble it, stir it, muddle it.

Each metronome sounds a bit differently, due to wear and tear, plus the fact that there are various models and brands.

Some don’t keep time steadily, others emit a noticeably loud electrical hum.

None of them can be depended on for accuracy, in fact they each exude an idiosyncratic character.

Versions:

Temper (Lenghtwave Wave) performed by Masha Kouznetsova and Ellen Moffat during the Water (Deshkan Ziibi) 12-hour event in the artLAB gallery on December 12, 2024.

Temper (Span Time) performed by Marla Hlady and Christof Migone at the Music Gallery, presented in collaboration with the Blackwood Gallery, on April 17, 2025.